B I O W A R F A R E
by A L P H A - H U N T R E S S
Summary: An ancient Forerunner bio-weapon is discovered by the Covenant, the unpredictable and unknown element is introduced into the Human-Covenant War. What will this mean for the war and for the fate of the two Empires fighting it?
1. Disclaimer & Warning

**DISCLAIMER & WARNING**

I do **NOT** own Halo (that honor belongs to Bungie/Microsoft) and this fan fiction is written purely for entertainment purposes.

Spartan-037 Eve and Vehna ARE my creations, original characters (obviously) so please, if for some reason anyone would want to, do not use them without permission.

**WARNING:** I would like to take this time to remind you that Biowarfare was originally written when only Halo: Combat Evolved was released therefore it may possibly disregard Halo 2 and Halo 3. I will try to keep it as canonically accurate as possible but I may deviate, in this case the story will exist as an alternate ending.

This story didn't go so well the first time, in fact I thought it was sort of weak but I found I couldn't just abandon it, so I continued to brainstorm for it and well, here is the result.

Enjoy, if you have a heart for someone who likes to think outside the box….like a lot.


	2. Spartan 037 Eve

**Spartan-037 Eve**

* * *

Eve took off her helmet, laying it down on her nightstand, wearily brushing her hair out of her eyes. It was not very long before she would have to cut it again to make sure it was within military regulations. Her hair was a vivid clash of dark red and browns; her eyes were the golden color of amber.

Having come back from another mission, she knew it would only be a while before they would go to another system to fight another battle. Since the beginning of the Human-Covenant War they never seemed to end, there was no shortage of conflict, demand for the Spartan-II super soldiers quite high in military engagements, every battle just melted into another. It was a reality that struck most Spartans as being their 'purpose', what they were bred, trained, and augmented for. She didn't deny that but it was tragic and wearying to her.

The true shame was that no matter how well they did in the ground engagements, the enemy could still win the space battle, which they often DID, and still glass the planet. A constant reminder of how one could win the battle but still lose the war. The Spartan-II super soldiers had been made to be the best but they had their limits in space. Nevertheless the Spartans were ever trying to adapt to the needs of the UNSC and to the war they fought, they had to or they were going to lose it altogether.

That is why her team – Sentinel Squad, fought in the vacuums of space, adapting to its hostile environs and developing new patterns of offensive strikes they could take to the enemy. However even four Spartans could only be so effective against warships especially those of Covenant capabilities. As a strike team they were efficient but still drawn so thin in battle that often the hard won successes were barely able to make a dent, a difference in turning to tide of the ever important space battles. There was also the fact that these endeavors were dangerous, variables of importance that could mean success or failure could change in an instant, the battlefield of space was so unpredictable for the small squad of HUMAN soldiers amongst dueling warships.

A soft rap on the door before the doorknob started to turn, it was all the warning she had to prepare for a visitor though truthfully she wasn't sure if they were welcome or not. The moment they'd gotten back on board the ship she'd made a beeline for her room, its silence a sanctuary where she could think. She was still so wound up, twitchy as hell, that was obvious from the fact she had to ease her grip upon her M6D pistol, lowering it as she quickly did a one-hundred and eighty degree turn to come face to face with Lir.

Lirane, or Lir, was standing there her hair was a pale blonde color and she had beautiful sapphire eyes, eyes that captured the movement of her lowered firearm before they narrowed notably in concern, "Are you alright?"

Silence was her only answer; the grim look at Lirane's face told her what she had been expecting. They had lost the space battle, which meant they had lost another colony to the Covenant. Not that she was surprised, any more she spared herself the trouble of hoping for the best. When she assumed the worse she wouldn't be as disappointed when it happened.

Lirane leaned against the wall, "We have a little time for some rest but we are moving into another direct battle. John and the others are already engaged on the ground, we will be disabling the ship taking part in it."

"I see, so the plan is what?"

"We board the ship and take out the ship's core. The ship we are targeting – _Descendant Valor_, is at the center of the Covenant battle cluster; said ship is also packing a great deal of space battle ordinance. If we blow it, it will go out with a BIG bang, likely will rip a hole in the Covenant fleet's formation. Allow our Navy to punch a hole through their line, wrap up their flanks, and route them soundly."

"How long before we are in system?"

"Several hours, you should get some rest, you aren't looking too well," Lir never missed a thing unfortunately Eve wasn't sure if her state could be cured by a few hours of sleep snatched hastily through slip space, she KNEW her emotional unrest wouldn't be cured any time soon and certainly not through any length of sleep – interrupted or not. Lirane was too insightful for her own good, her eyes scrutinizing her face, trying to pry further for detail, to get to the source of the problem. For anyone else Eve would have told them to 'fuck off' but Lirane was a Sister to her first and foremost and a commanding officer, her squad leader secondly. It was not out of bounds for Lir to show concern for her well being both personally and professionally.

Nevertheless Eve wasn't in the mood for it, to keep Lir from being able to wrest anything more from her facial features that she didn't otherwise want to share firsthand, her hands reached for her helmet, placing it back on, and sealing her suit securely, "I wish I could, I am ill at ease without dirt beneath my heel though," the truth of the matter was no matter Sentinel Squad's specialties Spartans were at their best on the ground and regardless of her experience in it she disliked the unknown factors in space. Her reply was not a lie but not the whole truth either – a half truth, unfortunately Eve was famous (or was that infamous?) for them. She'd been taught by the best – her mother, a woman she hadn't been overly fond of even at age six and didn't miss all that much in the years following her abduction and conscription into the Spartan-II Program. Eve was a master of guarding herself, saying just enough to put others at peace, to get them to stop worrying about her while she nursed the wounds on her own time, in her own way – just the way she liked it.

Lirane nodded, "Suit yourself, just don't over-exert yourself, I need you at your best."

"I never give you anything less," she turned away, her voice going quiet, it was a habit of her to ask where their battles were going to be, if only to put a name to the places they defended, a name by which its memory and that of its inhabitants could be forever etched in her mind, "Where are we going?"

"Altrion V."

That had NOT been the answer she'd expected through frankly she should have known it would only be a matter of time. Altrion I, II, III, IV, and V were middle colonies, not on the fringes like the unfortunate human holdings that had been eradicated with ease. Of late the Covenant were working their way inward, it was only a matter of time before they got there. Eve was glad that her visor hid her face from Lirane because for a moment, a look of shock was plastered to it. Altrion V had been her birthplace and home previous to the SPARTAN-II project and her training on Reach. Eve's memories of the place were faint but while it had been her home, as a civilian child, she'd appreciated it.

In this instance Lirane didn't need to see her face to know something was on her mind, Eve's silence spoke in volumes to the perceptive Spartan Lead, "You sure you are alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," the lie rolled off easily but it was obviously just that – a lie. For a moment Lirane was frozen as if trying to decide if she wanted to push the subject or let it be, she let it be, for which Eve was grateful.

That piece of new affected Eve more than she thought it would, she hadn't been there once since her childhood had been drawn up short by her 'forced' recruitment as a Spartan candidate. Still she couldn't deny that she felt an emotional attachment somewhat to the place. The fact that no matter how distant ago, the fact she had a personal involvement seemed to raise the stakes a bit higher in this battle. Eve realized she would do anything she could to spare it from the Covenant, anything. No, she thought, not anything, she'd not risk Lirane, Damian, or Leyna to spare it. Her duty of service to the UNSC demanded that the defense of Earth and her colonies come before her life and that of her squad. Altrion V was part of a distant past that didn't altogether belong to her, that girl had died so long ago, changed by Halsey's Spartan-II program though Eve wasn't sure if she was pleased with that fact even if she'd accepted it.

One thing was clear to her; her allegiance TRULY belonged to her brothers and sisters even before the UNSC, ONI, or any outsiders. Deep down Eve prayed that she was never was forced to choose between her duty and her siblings. The RIGHT choice to her would not be considered the right choice by a majority of others but she was not afraid, rarely was the 'right' path the easiest to tread but for her siblings she'd undergo any hardship even if it meant insubordination or death – the worse extremes.

* * *

**A/N: So you have got a good physical description and a little background of the main character on the human side of things, Spartan-037 Eve. The setting is when the humans are trying to protect their colonies before the Fall of Reach. In Chapter 2 you meet the main characters for the Covenant side of things. **


	3. Vehna Solas

**Vehna Solas**

* * *

"Vehna?"

With delicate grace, her head turned in the direction of the voice, gaze rising levelly from the holographic slate she'd been reading with diligence to meet the eyes of her mother.

"Yes?" she said, her mandibles clicking softly in their native tongue. She placed it down, to give her full attention as a gesture of respect.

"Nolan Hikaree is calling upon you."

For a moment she could only blink in shock, half wondering if she heard right. Including their betrothal ceremony she'd seen her betrothed…once. Although she knew their 'engagement' was intact he'd neither contacted nor visited her long enough that she'd long ago grown accustomed to being alone in a figurative sense.

She could remember it, their betrothal, she could remember it like it was yesterday and she recognized the pure pleasure that filled her at the thought of her betrothed. He'd left her behind with nothing more than a promise to wed her one distant day, he'd departed to make a name, fortune, and reputation that would do credit to their offspring. During his absence there had been few moments that she'd not followed his actions, praising his accomplishments and admiring his valorous exploits from afar. The distance and time apart had not made her fall out of love; it had made her more eager to finally settle down with him. Her position as his chosen mate was an enviable one. In some ways she still felt as she did then, like a giddy young female but in many ways she'd changed, gone on, leaving that young girl behind. She'd mellowed out, matured, become a proper young lady according to the rank and prestige of her father and the nobility of her mother's lineage. It was important that she reflect her highborn blood and breeding especially to this most important guest of hers.

In her mind a dilemma instantly manifested itself: whether to freshen up and keep him waiting while she readied herself or attend him immediately. Of course she was always presentable, she didn't have to redress or bathe herself to be pleasing to his eye. However, her decorum was not her best nor her finest, her garments were less than ideal. They were plain and made for comfort rather than fashion. In the end she decided against leaving him waiting any longer. It was not befitting for her to offer him a delay when he'd taken time to visit her. She rose, her robes moving fluidly in time and pace with her lithe legs. As she entered the long hall she walked down it, making sure to use the distance between them to put herself through her paces, to show she was elegant, self-assured, gracefully sliding into a smooth curtsy, her robe flowing around her. Her gaze only raised enough for her to see his hand, waiting for him to proffer it, so she could rise.

For a moment she wondered if she'd be kneeling all night when a hand was thrust out, without taking a look at it she accepted the hand and was mortified when she realized it wasn't proffered by Nolan but by Rhys, his brother. She gracefully rose to her feet aware of an uncomfortable silence as her betrothed scrutinized her. It was just wrong that Rhys had been the one to react first, to offer her the kindness of assistance. It was only worse that her betrothed was calm, unaffected by the fact his brother touched a woman meant for him alone. It was bad enough his interest was non-existent or well veiled; he didn't even get properly possessive. She was glad her skin was dark, no trace of the flush of silent outrage she felt, "My lord? May I inquire as to what reason grants me the honor of this visit?"

Her tone was controlled, betraying none of her feelings, at least he couldn't find fault with her command of the 'High Tongue' of the Sangheili or of her tone. It had taken her longer than she cared to admit to keep her attitude from seeping into her words. It wasn't right for a female to reveal outward displays of negative emotion let alone speak it. It had been hard for her to tamp down what was 'first nature' to her, to become a perfect wife.

"I was granted leave briefly. What kind of prospective mate would I be if I came home and never paid respects to mine mate?"

_What kind of mate indeed!_

She thought, not that he was turning out to be much of one right now. She'd never pegged him as thrilled about the match up but she never remembered him being adverse to it, his actions almost seemed hostile in a silent way. It was certainly communicating to her that he didn't much want to be here and was likely here only because tradition encouraged it, "How fortunate…"

She tried not to be put off by his coldness, pulling away from Rhys and offering an arm out to Nolan to welcome him into their home. He might have wretched mannerisms but she did not and right now was an ideal opportunity to show off. The rest of the night went off as if choreographed and in a way it was, she showed him every courtesy big or small, indulged him with a carefree flirtation which could have been hitting a brick wall for all the good it did. It was an uncomfortable affair to have his brother with them at all time. Not that Rhys made any noise or any indication he was there. His presence was unobtrusive but she felt uncomfortable because try as she might to forget him he was there and she didn't, couldn't forget it.

Besides the presence of Rhys, another thing that continue to eat at her was the fact he said he was granted leave briefly. She had dared to hope that in him coming here he was coming to claim her, to arrange for their mating to take place, to begin. Now it seemed like she was to be subjected to further ignorance. Ten cycles (years) ago she'd accepted that she was not yet fully formed as a female of their species, not yet appealing by the standards of grown males but that had changed, she had changed. She was right now perfect, in her prime, and one of the finest specimen of female on their planet. So why the hesitation? There is no way she could let it go, let him go without an answer to her silent inquiry, "My lord, why do we delay consummation of our, our betrothal? I am fully formed, the priestesses inform me I possess my full facilities and their functionality. We will not be young forever, I am in my prime," her greatest fear, being left until she was considered old, she was way passed the normal age of marriage. Most Sangheili females of her rank and age had two or three children and a spouse. Of late it had also been brought to her attention her Father wasn't getting any younger, he was ready to step down from the Council and hand his seat to her spouse. She was emboldened by the fact even her Father wanted him off the fields and settling down with her, "Forgive me but my Noble Father is not getting younger. He has expressed that he'd not be adverse to stepping down…"

"Vehna?"

"Yes?"

"Let's not talk about this now," his tone of voice was blunt, there was a touch of finality to it, like he didn't want to and wasn't going to talk about it. A dutiful wife-to-be would have backed down but Vehna bulked, just as unwilling to cease speaking of something so important, something only the two of them could resolve and she wanted it resolved NOW. She would not be put off even further; her words would not be silenced today.

"When are we going to talk about it?" She could no longer keep it down; keep it in, "How much longer before the NEXT time you come home? I have to admit my Father probably expected when he promised me in troth that I'd be claimed and taken as wife before the middling age of my life. You cannot imagine the stigma I face in that I cannot explain WHY I am not truly taken, what kind of defect keeps my mate from claiming me, from fulfilling my role as a female and an individual. By taking your time you humiliate me and through me disgrace my Father, my entire family!"

The release of her anger felt good but it instantly through any chance of a favorable night out the window. She half wondered if he'd be put off or angry by her reaction. Predictably he didn't show any such emotion either way, she should have known he'd be apathetic, unshakable. A part of her hated him for it, that he could be so unaffected, so collected, that he was everything she was emotionally NOT. She wasn't sure she'd be able to hold back even her tears anymore, her fears of rejection and abandonment had materialized as anger because she hadn't wanted to get emotional, to cry in front of him, a warrior surely wouldn't value such feminine theatrics even if they were based in truth rather than drama.

She would not cry, she was not going to, she was going to cry.

…at least she was if she stayed here, to save face she departed. It was impolite, she should have at least declared the visit at an end and showed him to the door, she couldn't even do that now.

* * *

_Heretics be damned…_

This was NOT how Nolan had planned the visit with Vehna. She was attractive, it is why he'd brought his brother with him, as a proxy, an escort that would assure his behavior remained within bounds seen as he and Vehna were promised but had not yet taken that final step. In truth he hadn't wanted to be tempted to abandon the military, not yet, not with a great final battle force being amassed. The Hierarchs needed all the strength they could for the push against Reach, a human stronghold amongst the stars, it was only a matter of time before they found it, found some vessel or human that would betray its location. In truth never once had he thought of how his actions affected Vehna from afar, his ignorance had been callous even if his emotions had never been engaged with her, he had a responsibility for her, to her.

"One of these days you are going to push it off far too long, you'll die before you have a chance to settle down and she'll be a widow before she is ever a bride," Rhys grimly foreshadowed, "Tell her!"

"She is civilian, not privy to such information. Part of the reason our campaigns are so successful against the humans is because we know how to keep intelligence under control, on a need to know basis and properly encrypted."

"The 'humans' have no idea were Sanghelios is, Vehna doesn't strike me as a gossip so it is likely if you told her the Hierarachs will never be the wiser and humans would never learn of besides…she DESERVES to know what keeps her from living a full life by the standards of our people and according to her gender role within the Society," Rhys' tone held accusation plain and clear, it was doubly worse for Vehna to be ignored, even civilians of lesser status would look down upon her failures, failures which were NOT her fault…they were his. However, his actions…his valor…his reputation kept him above condemnation and reproach, no one would fault him for neglecting his betrothed if it meant defending their race from heretics and heathens, they would see his decision as putting the greater good over the needs of one individual – Vehna, which meant that she endured all the negative slights that resulted from their barren, unconsummated union.

Although the Hierarchs decreed the strike was supposed to be quiet, it seemed wrong return to the front without telling her why he was leaving and projecting a possible date for his return to her. Surely he could keep it vague, keep from revealing too many details but enough to satisfy Vehna. There was also a need to resolve the issue THIS night, he couldn't just leave for the battlefield with her like this, it would make his next return to her harder, their union would begin uncomfortable and awkwardly upon emotionally rocky terrain. His mind made up he asked for her, instead of the daughter her Mother approached in her stead.

"My daughter claims she is indisposed for any further visitation this evening," that didn't surprised him to hear that from her mother, "I apologize for her outburst.

"Don't, the fault for her reaction lies in mine actions, she was a more than adequate hostess but I was impolite for a guest of such intimacy. Do not be critical of her, she doesn't deserve it," yes, Vehna had more than her share of inferiority based in hostile criticism, he couldn't change what she endured in the past but he could attempt to change that in the future starting with his actions right now.

"She should have at least shown you out, she knows what is expected of her regardless of her training, her education, she still has much to learn, her duty always should supersede all else especially her emotions. The fact she has retreated into herself indicates I have not educated her as well as I had thought, I ask for your pardon on behalf of us both, Mother and Daughter."

It was clear she was not going to absolve either of them of fault, only he could, "The pardon is granted but I would still ask that I see Vehna that I might grant her my pardon and impart critique personally," by his own considerations he had no right and no intention of criticizing her but as her betrothed, in the eyes of other he had EVERY right to shape Vehna as he saw fit, if he handled talking to her she might escape the reproach her parents would surely deliver to her once they'd learned of this disasterous visitation.

"Vehna is in gardens, it is her solace, her private sanctuary, she loves the plants and nurtures them as a mother would a child, I will allow you a short duration alone," the meaning was clear, without a proper ceremony he'd be given the privacy due to a near-husband of her daughter but not a uninterrupted privacy that would allow him to disgrace Vehna. Her Mother stepped aside, staying with Rhys who watched him as he walked down to the steps toward the moonlit garden. Vehna was there and she was arresting, the moonlight of Qikost and Suban, the two moons of Sanghelios, spilling beautifully over her dark skin, the contact make it look like fair burnished ebony. No wonder her Mother wouldn't allow him long with her, she was tempting him. There was a personal feeling of self to her now, as if she'd be removed from expectations to live up to her class and breeding and she was more lovely because of it. It was like all he'd seen before had been a façade engineered to please him, subduing who she truly was and this before him now was her true self. That was probably the sad truth of her life and he felt a strange sense of pity twist through his gut, even though he knew they didn't have long to talk uninterrupted he couldn't get the words to come forth, to nerve to approach her. Thankfully she sensed his approach, glanced at him over her shoulder and bowed her head, "I wish to be alone, please?"

"I can't leave, Vehna, not with things like this between us."

"Then stay," her entreaty was there, she wanted him to throw everything holding him bound to the wind and to stay with it. It was ever so tempting especially with the plants around her, paying singular homage to their Mother. He'd never expected this of Vehna, to get down on hands and needs attending plants in murk and grime and mud, clearly she was not so arrogant, so high handed that she could not take joy in simple parts of life.

"I can't, Vehna," before she could be drawn into another rage of hopelessness, he dove into an explanation hoping it would keep her silent, that she'd at least listen so they could mend the rift between them, "Our betrothal will take place and soon, an assault is being readied to attack the humans. Once we have find their fortress world, this place called," his mandibles curled in distaste as a human word flowed from his tongue, he treated it as if he'd spoken curse word to her, "Reach. It will fall and the race will be posed to follow it with their decrepit, long-suffering military. That will be my final stand, a final act before I retire from active duty. I shall return and wed you, I will take your Father's place on the High Council if he wishes it and we will raise our children, spend our lives together."

"You mean it," it seemed tentative, almost half statement, half question, as if she read the sincerity of his words but was unable to believe it and needed confirmation that her life would one day REALLY begin.

"I do."

She rose, stepping up to him, and instantly he wanted to back down. Nothing else in this war made him afraid or anxious but Vehna did, how had he NEVER seen her before NOW like this?

Her voice when it came was soft but her intention was unmistakable…

"Prove it."


	4. Altrion V

**A/N: Altrion V is NOT a real battle, it was a battle made for the purpose of forwarding the plot.**

* * *

**Altrion V**

* * *

Spartan-049 Lirane HATED to wait; if there was a battle to be had she'd like to get down into it, to take care of it. That is why there was a measure of comfort to preparing for one's missions, gave her time to focus intently on the task at hand and those that would need to be accomplished in the future. Preparing her gear for the mission wasn't difficult, it was a matter of predicting the 'worst case scenario' and planning your way out of it, planning to 'cheat' death of your life and that of your squad. It was a lot better than standing around with the awful feeling of waiting for the future. Like any Spartan, she liked the feeling of being productive and in control so instead of sleeping, she packed and planned.

Her eyes shifted, landing on the other members of her squad. Over the past hour they'd exited their slip space jump and all members had been accounted for, preparing for their mission, although to passerby they looked the same in their MJOLNIR Mark IV armor they each possessed individual subtleties that defined them and that was reflected in the way each one packed. Alone they would only focus on 'extremes' of their specialties but together, as a whole, they covered whatever the squad might need for their mission.

Spartan-036 Leyna – she was the 'brains' of the operation, in the pass her gear might've include data pads and computational mediums, the use of the MJOLNIR HUD greatly reduced the amount of gear she had to pack but she still carried what they called HSG, hard-slicing gear, even the Covenant systems could be manipulated by human-made computer gear. Computer Science and technology seemed to be the one place in which they held their own and even maybe surpassed the Covenant. If there was ever a master of hacking, tapping into the Covenant computer systems, it was Leyna. A few months previous she'd learned how to crack the Covenant battle net, their encrypted channels reserved for coordinating starship and groundside action. Since then Leyna had made a habit of cracking it open like a nut, gleaning anything and everything of use and relaying it back to ONI and the UNSC. Sometimes Leyna's actions had saved them all from utter ruin and defeat.

Spartan-040 Damian – he was more obvious to peg; he was the 'brawn', the largest of the Sentinel squad in sheer bulk. As for his size in regards to the other Spartan-II's, only Spartan-034 Sam, deceased as of November 27, 2525 at the Battle of Chi Ceti, had been taller, larger. Damian's already formidable bulk of flesh, bone, and armor was only made larger by the charges and explosive material he carried on his person. Damian always preferred a straightforward solution of calculated elimination before all others. He had little patience for gathering intelligence but his impatience ended there. Under no circumstances was he hasty to the point of being negligent

Spartan-037 Eve – she is everything the others were not, catching the slack wherever and whenever some was left. Eve was the 'heart' of the squad, Lirane didn't know how she functioned, emotions weren't ideal to carry upon the battlefield but Eve felt them fully, intensely, she harnessed them to be of use TO her not against her. Lirane had never seen her strong emotions ever 'jeopardize' a mission, her emotions were resilient and she knew when and where to use them to her benefit. Eve was the designated 'distance' shooter, Eve had a love for scoped weapons such as the S2-AM Sniper Rifle and the standard issue M6D pistol. For close combat, no pretenses, Eve favored an up close and personal approach – pure melee.

The thought of that brought a smile to Lirane as she saw Eve sheath an archaic combat knife, serrated on the blade's edge, smooth on the other. Very few carried weapons for use in close quarters, most could not compare or hope to survive close quarters combat with the massive aliens, carrying a combat knife for use against the likes of the Covenant simply wasn't practical but no one was quite like Eve, she could and would figure out a way to use it. When Damian gave Eve a hard time about that point she'd turned almost 'catty' quoting that he was a pain in the ass, she was easily the equal of any of the Covenant, and that she preferred to make sure her 'back-up' weapon didn't require ammunition especially if it wasn't available. A bleak though but possible especially if they ever found themselves cut off upon a hostile enemy ship, that was so like Eve – prepared for the worse.

With that, satisfied by their progress, she turned her attention onto the most important part of their gear – the thrust gear. They each wore a modified variation of thruster packs, modified to better fit against their battle armor and to allow them to carry greater amounts of the fuel used to power. The Battle of Chi Ceti had taught them a few things and both of the problems were resolved in the designs of the thrust package Sentinel Squad wore. Between missions the best mechanics worked on the primary thrusters, each squad member also had a back up in case the primary was damaged or malfunctioned prior to mission deployment. Nevertheless it was…hard for the Spartan squad to put their lives in the hands of others and their handiwork, they always gave the status of their thruster packs a precursory check before donning them and moving out.

Lirane started to work on hers when Damian and Eve came over, earlier they'd been exchanging banter to lighten the mood but now, so close to the mission, they were silent, stoic, and serious. Eve completed her check and swept it onto her shoulders, rolling her shoulders to make sure the pack was restricting her movement. Then turned, double-checking Damian's harness and gear making sure it was secure. The both of them jumped up and down, neither of them made a sound signaling that both of them secured their gear down TIGHT, they'd not give away their position on the ship through a careless sound. The way those two interacted was never lost on Lirane considering in battle they were kept apart, Damian was point and Eve was rear guard yet they seemed especially close. Lirane and Leyna both mimicked Damian and Eve in checking their gear and each other. A precaution that served them well, the worse kind of accidents could be prevented if a problem was seen ahead of time and the more people who saw it would make it more likely to be found and taken care of.

"Spartan-049, are you ready to deploy?"

It came over the intra-ship com channels, Lirane gave a look at the others who gave the all-clear signal, "We are."

"We're going to try to bring you in as close as we can but that said, we are not going to go in the middle of a Covenant Battle Fleet to deliver you onto their doorstep. You're going to have to get creative."

"We'll do that, can you spare decoys to distract them?"

There was a pause as the Commander contemplated that request; no doubt he had his Weapons Officer telling him their combat capability. If the Squad was lucky the ship was well armed enough to spare a volley of missiles, it would at the least make the Covenant concentrate in another direction, to concentrate on anything but shooting them down, it would increase the likeliness they'd get on the hull of the Covenant ship without being shot down by plasma-based Covenant arsenal. If not, well then they'd have to get creative, for more than once she'd hoped to get a hold of the Covenant's camouflage if only to make them all the more difficult to see in space travel, "We can spare a few salvos but most are needed for the battle at hand, get to the ship, disable it, then get the hell out of there for a swift dust off. Make sure you save plenty of fuel to get well out of the blast radius in time."

"Yes, sir," she said, mentally making a note of that though frankly it was obvious to be 'conservative' on her fuel she supposed they should appreciate the concern behind that forewarning.

"Move into position," with that they all hefted their weapons and moved towards the airlock, feeling the ship seal the doors. They were standing on the outside, upon the ship's hull. Lirane was the last and looked appreciatively at her team, Damian and Eve knelt down on either side of where she and Leyna stood both holding onto the hull. Their tense silhouettes against the wild alien darkness of space gave them an appearance of being beautiful yet dangerous predators. In the distance they could see the battle being raged as their ship flanked the Covenant fleet silently. Lirane tightened her grip upon her Assault Rifle, once again feeling that feeling of impatience. She knew it would not go away; she'd not be satisfied until she brought her squad safely home.

* * *

Sehti Hikaree thought of his escort with 'disdain' if that was the name that could be given to it. It was bad enough that no one properly appreciated his contribution to the war but to add insult to the injury they put him on an oversized supply ship. Below him he knew there were five colonies, colonies which could be plundered for candidates, testing subjects for his 'research'.

As the third son of three children a long time ago Sehti had resigned himself to the fact he was unnecessary, just one step away from being worthless. Nolan was the eldest, a Ship Master and very talented at that, he had a betrothed and likely once his military career was 'over' he'd have a seat upon the Council not that he had the mind or patience for politics.

Rhys was the middle son; the 'true' warrior of the family, inheriting the 'swordsman' genes that were so important, so cherished in both Covenant and Sangheili society. Rhys would never have much of a personal life because of it but he wouldn't need to, married or unmarried, he'd be able to have his pick of dalliances to fill his time off the battlefield. Rhys fit the bill of an ideal Covenant warrior with his impeccable genetic build, he was one of the lucky ones being born knowing his place and valued beyond measure for the duration of his life – whether that'd be short or long.

Sehti had the misfortune of being both stunted and ungainly, he was still much stronger than any mere human but unfit for combat operations. Realizing that a battlefield would be the death of him, he honed his mind instead of muscle. Normally that would have been welcomed if not for the fact not much required Sangheili to think. The Prophets were the ruling class, Sehti as the last born son would never be poised to inherit a seat upon the Council, and the Covenant weren't a creative race. Everything they needed was provided by the Forerunners and the Prophets seemed to find it sacrilege to aspire to create better and innovative technology. So most of the time he'd been a waste of time and space until recently. Recently they'd acquired the Avatar of the Goddess, one of the Forerunners incarnated, preserved through technology. He wasn't sure about that; never having put much stalk in their religion as he probably should but he was grateful for the intervention of the 'Goddess' if it meant he was finally noticed at least.

His task – to use his genius to figure out a way to use an ancient Forerunner bioweapon against the human race. It had proven to be more difficult than he'd anticipated, as the Avatar said the biological weapon was reverse-engineered for use against the Flood, whatever THAT was, and not meant to be hostile to other sentient life forms. His first dilemma had been to change that, to make it ravenous and hostile and capable of widespread infection. The first he had solved in a manner of speaking, he'd managed to fuse the virulent infection with the Lekgolo worms, he'd managed to implant them inside human hosts, AND he'd managed to kill them off.

Unfortunately THAT was the problem despite having a abundance of testing material, human prisoners from fallen colonies, he'd not been able to find a way to keep a subject alive long enough to see their 'transmutations' through successfully and from there to find a way to pass it off. It was very easy to combine the alien strain of virus with the Lekgolo worms but impractical to capture every human being and implant them with one. The Covenant needed a way to strike them in a way that they couldn't guard against. He had to find a way, to figure out how they could replicate. Sehti was sure they virulent Lekgolo worms were capable of reproducing, of delivering the results he wanted but he heavily suspected that only mature hosts would be able to reproduce and pass on embryos to other humans. Trouble was he'd never once gotten his claws on a host capable of surviving to that point.

His first subjects had been plundered at Harvest, twenty-seven cycles (years) ago. They'd not survived long and since then he'd been plundering human population centers for more hopeful prospects. They had all failed and over time he'd learned to be a bit more 'picky' about candidates not that the 'Marines' reputably the UNSC's best had survived much better. By now he was running out of ideas and was seriously contemplating trying to tamp down the potential of his creation until he'd seen these demons, these Spartans. If their reputation was to be believed then one of those would likely survive implantation AND transmutation but that was the difficulty – acquiring one through capture and then convincing both the Hierarchs and others to keep it alive to be useful.

Sehti supposed he didn't have to worry about the second until he achieved the first objective which he intended to achieve someway, somehow, sure that the success of his project and the final victory of the Covenant against humanity depended upon his efforts.

* * *

"Go, go, go!"

Lirane's orders rang loud and clear through her COMM channel, instinctively Eve lunged to her feet, crouched, and pushed off the titanium hull as her thrusters were brought to maximum burn. The forceful push sent her lunging out towards the distant Covenant ship, even this close her jump would not deliver her to the Covenant hull that is where her thrust pack came in. She saw Lirane and Leyna ahead of her, they weighed a bit less. A powerful blast from the _Nor'easter's _twin MAC guns pierced through the shield causing it to drop, temporarily bare of its protective energy shield, Lir and Leyna were able to land uncontested upon the Covenant hull. Eve and Damian both landed next but landed on a semi-invisible surface of the energy shields. Eve cursed as she slipped, taking time to burn a small thrust to keep her from slipping down. She damn well would like to know how they got those things back up so quickly, their ability to repair the damn things was damn efficient, that said it was also annoying.

Damian had already vaulted lunging for the Covenant guns, his fingers ghosting along the shield as he approached the weapons. First PHYSICAL contact with the Covenant done by Spartan-117 John, Spartan-034 Sam, and Spartan-087 Kelly had yielded the revelation that Covenant shields around the guns dropped to allow plasma salvos to go through. It was risky as hell but without Lir and Leyna tackling the ship's crew on their own to take down the shields internally it was the only way. Lying flat along the shield, she slid over its smooth surface after Damian. Even with his head start Eve got there first, slipping through before the laser even had flared with any semblance of life. Damian hastily lunged after her and was almost through the gap when a portion of the superheated plasma hit his pack. A part of his thrusters exploded and sent him back. Lirane and Eve both lunged into action each grabbing a hold of a hand, pulling Damian in before the shields could come back up.

Lirane exhaled a shaky breath that she tried to quiet as she opened the team COMM, "Status?"

Eve stepped forward, to check out Damian's back, she had a better view of it than he did by any rate, "Miraculously his suit is intact, no breach, can't say the same about the Covenant hull but I'm not complaining there, saves us the trouble of cracking it. Thrusters sustained damage, its just dead weight - worthless."

The situation could be worse she reflected, a busted thruster they could deal with. Damian could hold onto any of them and pull him out on their own power.

"Damian? You good?"

"Shoulder feels skinned raw and busted," not surprising to hear, only the MJOLNIR armor had kept his arm from being burnt right off and the concussion of the blast had been small but plenty to deliver a shock to knock his arm out, hopefully it wasn't broken.

"Until we check out that arm let's not put any more weight or stress on that shoulder. Eve?"

"I'll carry the charges," carefully she helped lift the pack from Damian's shoulder. To his credit, even though it no doubt hurt like hell, he gave no indication of pain as she slipped his extra munitions onto her own back. Eve then noticed that they were not left undamaged, those that were intact and not ignited or discharges were damaged. Their timers blasted clean off by the blow by a crude close shave of plasma fire; they'd have to be remote detonated. Eve shouldered the pack as she filed away the knowledge, not really seeing any problem with it. They'd all set the charges, get the hell off, and detonate them from afar.

"Let's move," Leyna said, helping Damian up and he instantly took point as they walked to the hull breach made by his rocky entrance. Lirane bounced down next, Eve looked back over her shoulder at the space battle her gaze fell to the colonies Altrion I-II-III-IV-V before she jumped down to join them.

His shoulder hurt like a son of a bitch, he never would have bitched about it but he'd been relieved when Eve took the explosives off his back LITERALLY but that is as far as he'd go to accepting help though; he could do his part in this mission. He crept forward, his rocket launcher slung over his shoulder as he crept around the corners his Assault Rifle held at the ready. A glance over his shoulder showed that Lirane's rifle was raised above just behind him to allow her to aim at any threats they'd engage, it was a solemn warning that reminded him of the importance to keep his head down. Leyna was just behind Lirane but her glance was not aimed at any particular direction, her fingers typing at a tiny keyboard in her hand, "We're lucky…this ships primary cargo was personal most of which are currently deployed planet side. We shouldn't find a lot of resistance, nothing more than the security and even we might be able to sneak around them."

"Good," Lirane said, "Damian? Eve?"

"Nothing," they said together in unison.

* * *

Nothing is what they THOUGHT they saw and heard, Sehti barely dared to believe his eyes let alone breathe as he saw four of the demons wandering the hall. He'd barely had enough advance warning to don camouflage before turning the corner, practically finding himself right on top of them. Now his mind was rapidly trying to calculate the best way to capture them, no, capture one of them. It would be suicide to capture and TRY to hold four of these…Spartans. One conflict scenario after another and another went through his mind. He quickly decided against summoning other soldiers, they'd likely kill them all to gain prestige and he needed one of them alive.

The way they were armed suggested they were packing some heavy firepower, for a powerful strike of some sort, They didn't have enough gear to say they were staying for long which meant they were here for a swift strike, likely to destroy the ship. If it had been his own, with all his research aboard it he'd have repelled them immediately with effort and with others but that was not to case. This ship was nothing to him, it held no value and the more he thought about it the more he was sure that this ship's destruction could be just the sort of distraction that would see him capturing one of the armored fiends.

* * *

The mission went well, too well, by Lirane's standards. They not ran into a single Covenant and at the very least she'd expected that and more. It was as if the security detail packed up and left ship too which seemed like pure bullshit to Lirane. They'd been up and down the damn vessel and not a Covenant bastard in sight. They'd set charges in the plasma torpedo bay along the warship's keel, to the cannons on the bow and prow; to the stern's rear storage compartments (which held a decent amount of plasma based arms both large and small) and finally they were on the home stretch. It was a little bit TOO MUCH to accept that they'd be allowed to set up such an elaborate network of explosives up and down the ship but despite what she told herself, the fact of the matter was nothing was there, nothing was stopping them.

* * *

While the 'demons' went up and down the ship setting their explosives Sehti made his own carefully laid plans. He was relatively sure that they'd use their point of entry as their point of exit so he concentrated his efforts there it was of great importance that he cut one of them off securely from the others and injure it enough that he'd not have to subdue it on his own power. He was stronger than most humans but he didn't want to brush with death so badly that he'd test that theory out with one of these armored veterans. He eyed the tight breached passageway over his head, if he weakened it would it collapse? At the least he brought out a vial of acid and carefully spread the corrosive and flammable substance out thin over the Covenant metal and was gratified to see it worked on the foreign alien metal just as it did on human materials.

Many Covenant disdained anything human-made but someone HAD to study them, their languages, their creations. He'd been the first to do so, even before the Prophets, he'd been the one to give them the malevolent message that acted as declaration of war between their two species at Harvest. His aim of collecting bits and pieces, a collection of human objects, often served to earn him the ridicule of his own species but it was nice to see that his eccentricities finally proved useful to furthering his own goals. Last but not least he set deactivated plasma grenades in the lining of the walls and laid carefully in wait, waiting for the time to put his plan into swift motion.

* * *

"Okay, we are almost full circle, I marked our point of entry down this hallway and around the corner. I'll transfer a miniature of the map to your HUD and mark it with a navigation point," Leyna's calm voice was unriddled by any misgivings that Eve had, misgivings she was sure that Lirane and Damian shared. Leyna was far too impassive, too calm to show an outward signs of emotion, she was A LOT like the technology she worked with. Leyna was a rock, a foundation just as much as Lirane was guidance and motivation. The navigation (nav) point flickered to life on her HUD telling her distance and direction, she moved forward with the others but stayed at the ready, in position. She could care less if any Covenant bastards were on board, the important part of this mission the munitions and weaponry were armed and ready to blow once they got off this ship, regardless of who or what was on this ship they wouldn't exist much longer, not one they were through with _Descendant Valor. _She realized that Lirane had picked up the squad's pace and she hastened to match it when she heard something. Eve turned, rifle at the ready, it was her job to make sure nothing unpleasant ambushed them from behind. Her haste to keep up couldn't supplant her duty. Eve crept, subtly backtracking as Lirane halted them, "Eve?"

That was the last thing she heard before EVERYTHING went to hell. The drop of a pin and suddenly a fragmentation grenade clattered to the base of her feet. Normally she'd have been able to avoid it but time on that grenade had been ticking as it vaulted airborne to her position. It exploded, throwing her back, the shrapnel flecks clinking uselessly against her armor. Then 'bad' fishtailed right into FUBAR (f-ed up beyond all recognition) the blast radius of the fragmentation grenade wasn't to kill her off, it was to set off a chain reaction of plasma based explosions, each one small but set off several more until it was a conflagration of bright light, blistering heat, burning scents, and twisted metal as the hallway caved in, collapsing cleanly upon her.

The coppery tang of blood, she could smell it as her vision swam, instinctively she knew she had a laceration at the base of her skull, severe trauma at least. Even her armor hadn't been able to protect her from all the damages and she wondered if it was all that was holding her together. Normally she would have been able to push off all the carnage and rubble piled upon her but in this case she could barely feel let alone coordinate her muscles to function. She tried to establish communications with the others but her COMM system was dead, completely knocked out by the damage her suit had sustained. Steps echoed nearby and her vision gathered enough stability to make out the hoofed foot of a biped. She grit her teeth, using the last of her consciousness to access the armor's OS, wiping it completely clean, her consciousness yielding to a darkness only just short of death itself.

* * *

"Leyna! Calculate an alternate route! We HAVE to find her, to get to her!"

"Negative, Spartan-049! Detonate the charges once you are at a safe distance and designated extraction point."

Lirane hesitated, she shouldn't have, her lack of response was enough to declare her dissent, the mere fact she contemplated disobeying her orders.

Spartan-049, acknowledge orders!

Pull out NOW! You've had long enough, the mission MUST be accomplished, millions of lives will be lost if we don't win THIS battle.

Spartan-037 has been deemed expendable in this circumstance, the lives upon the Altrion colonies take precedence and priority. Eliminating that Covenant fleet will greatly bring the odds, turn the tide of the space battle in our favor and will likely spare the colony. Spartan-037 knows her duty, know your own! Acknowledge orders!"

"Spartan-037 has saved just as many lives if not more through her actions in past engagements, retroactively and prospectively, in the past and future!"

"I'm not going to tell you again, Spartan-049, you are treading close to insubordination. Your own duty to those colonies supersede those to Spartan-037. Acknowledge orders! Now!"

"Lir?" Leyna's haggard voice drew her attention and she shook her head, "the trace is gone, no beacon and I can identify no alternate routes. I'm sorry."

No life support beacon mean that she could no longer check on Spartan-037, it meant she was most likely dead. Lirane felt weight coil heavily in her throat as she tried to speak around the numb shock within her, everything in her wanted to search and search until they were sure, until they found a body but deep down she knew she didn't want to see it confirmed nor did she, in this moment, have the luxury of making that decision, her orders were clear and she had no choice, "Acknowledged."

* * *

At first he'd feared his ambush, his trap had killed it, he'd gravely overestimated its capabilities and underestimated the effectiveness of his own trap, forgetting that the Demons had no energy shielding for their personal combat armor. The mistake could have killed it but luckily, in his favor, it hadn't been close enough, not nearly close enough to get the full blast of the plasma detonations. It had been on the fringes of the trap, just barely received a taste of the inferno within the explosion's core. Still the explosive upheaval had toppled the hallway, injured it gravely and isolated it from the help of the others.

Cautiously he approached it, plasma rifle at the ready as it moved barely hopefully not in death throes. His eyes paid attention in special detail to where its arms, legs, and weapons were, more often than he cared to be reminded these beasts were beserkers, fighting to a fierce end even when they were going to die, slated for death. Its weapon was out of its reach but for good measure he kicked them away, movement stilled to nothingness, it seemed that physical attack from not something he had to worry about right now. He drew a Covenant based sedative; enough to knock out an Elite, it was the closest species equivalent he had for medical comparison. To be secure a part of him wanted to increase the dosage but feared that would be the final straw, pushing it into the abyss between life and death. If it wore off he could always inject more. Finding bare skin was a problem but finally he placed the drone on the black part of her armor, the injector punching a small hole through the layers.

How much time had he wasted? He needed to get them, himself and this demon, off ship. How long did he have before the others detonated it? He didn't want to find out firsthand. Thankfully he'd had foresight to spring his trap near a Covenant escape pod. With the dead weight of armor he'd never get it off. Nearby a Huragok, a Covenant 'Engineer' floated and docilely started to unearth the Demon from rubble while he had been thinking. It tentacular appendages and the delicate cilia then began to disengage the armor, taking it apart carefully piece by piece, revealing the human beneath. Thankfully most Covenant breathed an oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere just like these humans, save the Unggoy who required a methane, meaning she was in no danger of suffocation from that action of the Huragok.

As Sehti gazed upon her he was…shocked, her body bore evidence of severe injuries but she was undoubtedly alive, human, and female by their standard of her native race. So? The Covenant already known that humans allowed females on the battlefield he didn't know why this came as a surprise but it did, he'd have expected mechanical components, perhaps he'd expected machine not someone to be under all that armor.

Now was undoubtedly his chance, while the Engineer busied itself with ship repairs and reassembling the armor components like pieces of a puzzle Sehti lifted the human, half staggering under its weight as he lifted and dragged it to the escape pod.

* * *

Lirane numbly clambered through the penetrated hull, her hand catching against the restored energy shields of the carrier, using it as an invisible support for a moment while Leyna and Damian looked back at her, "Damian, penetrate the shield a low-grade charge should do it without blowing us to pieces, we only need a small hole."

Damian did not acknowledge her directive by word; barely any of them had spoken since Eve had been…lost especially not Damian. An acknowledgement light flickered on her HUD, the only kind of affirmative she was likely to get out of them, to get out of any of them. A vibration beneath her feet followed by a distant sound then Damian clicked on the COMM channel, "Done."

There was a curious and revelatory tone to his voice. They were all feeling grief but for Damian it seemed to hit harder, to haunt him, how had she missed THAT? Lirane wanted to confront and comfort him but now was not the time that would have to wait. Leyna and Lirane swiftly made it over to Damian's location, down the ship a round pounded into _Descendant Valor's _shields and they died entirely. Lirane took hold of the detonator, her hands shaking slightly, Damian's hand closed upon the detonator, his thumb coming to rest upon hers which ghosted over the detonator's trigger, Leyna put hers upon Damian's and in unison they crouched, pushing off the Covenant hull as their thumbs pressed down on the detonator. The force of their MJOLNIR enhanced jump along with maximum thrust would deliver them away from the blast radius. The shields flickered back to life as Lirane looked back.

_Good bye._

_Spartans NEVER died_, she thought numbly as she accessed the Spartan-II roster and listed her revision to it - marking Spartan-037 as MIA_, if only that were true._

The narrow space battle victory, the salvation of the Altrion colonies, was it worth one individual? Worth their sister? Many without hesitation would say yes but anymore Lirane wasn't so damn sure…

* * *

**A/N: Though Sentinel Squad was successful in their mission objectives the Battle of the Altrion Colonies resulted in failure. I am making this known because in the Halo novels Keyes victory previous to the Battle of Sigma Octanus was said to be the first space victory the UNSC had won in some time.**


End file.
